"The Two Towers" splits Frodo and Sam from the rest of the Fellowship, sending them toward Mordor with the creature Gollum as their guide while Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli fight to save the kingdom of Rohan from the wizard Saruman's army. The film ends with Rohan's capital saved after the Battle of Helm's Deep, while Frodo, having survived Gollum's betrayal attempt, presses on toward Mount Doom with the Ring still his burden to carry.
Peter Jackson's 2002 film is the second installment in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien's novel of the same name. It picks up immediately after "The Fellowship of the Ring" left off, following three separate groups whose stories run in parallel until they converge in the next film, "The Return of the King.".
Table of Contents
- What happens to Frodo, Sam, and Gollum?
- What happens at Helm's Deep?
- What do Merry, Pippin, and the Ents do?
- How does the film end, and what does it set up?
- Frequently Asked Questions
What happens to Frodo, Sam, and Gollum?
Frodo and Sam continue toward Mordor to destroy the One Ring, the weapon the dark lord Sauron needs to dominate Middle-earth. Along the way they capture Gollum, a twisted, Ring-corrupted creature who has hunted the Ring for decades and still refers to it as "my precious." Frodo spares Gollum's life and uses him as a guide, against Sam's objections. Gollum leads them toward Mordor but also toward a plan of his own: he intends to deliver Frodo to the giant spider Shelob so he can reclaim the Ring once Frodo is dead.
Before that plan plays out, the trio is captured by Faramir, a captain of Gondor and brother to the deceased Boromir, who takes them to the ruined city of Osgiliath to assess the Ring's power for his father. At Osgiliath, Frodo nearly hands the Ring to a Nazgûl, one of Sauron's winged servants, before Sam's intervention snaps him out of it. Faramir, moved by what he witnesses, releases the group and lets them continue their quest. The film leaves Frodo still trusting Gollum, setting up the betrayal that plays out in "The Return of the King.".
What happens at Helm's Deep?
Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli track an orc raiding party to rescue the hobbits Merry and Pippin, who escaped into Fangorn Forest. There they reunite with Gandalf, who has returned from death as Gandalf the White after his fall in the previous film. Gandalf explains he was sent back to finish his task of opposing Sauron. The group travels to Rohan, where Gandalf frees King Théoden from a weakening spell cast by Saruman's influence through his advisor Gríma Wormtongue.
With Théoden restored, Rohan faces an immediate threat: Saruman, the corrupted wizard controlling the orc army called the Uruk-hai, sends ten thousand soldiers to wipe out Rohan's people. Théoden evacuates his civilians to Helm's Deep, an ancient fortress, rather than risk open battle. The Uruk-hai breach the fortress wall using explosives, and the defenders are pushed back until Gandalf arrives at dawn with Éomer and a force of riders, scattering the remaining attackers. The victory saves Rohan's population and breaks Saruman's immediate military threat, though Saruman himself survives the film.
What do Merry, Pippin, and the Ents do?
While separated from the main group, Merry and Pippin encounter Treebeard, an ancient tree-like being called an Ent who serves as a shepherd and protector of the forest. The hobbits convince him that Saruman's industrial war effort is destroying the forest itself, cutting down trees to fuel his armies and forges at Isengard. Treebeard initially resists involvement, believing the war between men and wizards isn't the Ents' fight.
After seeing firsthand how much of the forest Saruman's orcs have destroyed, he rallies the other Ents to march on Isengard. The Ents flood the fortress and destroy Saruman's war machine, cutting off his ability to produce more Uruk-hai soldiers. This subplot runs parallel to the Helm's Deep battle and resolves the Saruman threat from a different angle: even though Saruman survives, his capacity to wage war is crippled by the time the film ends.
How does the film end, and what does it set up?
The film closes on two fronts. At Helm's Deep, Rohan has survived and Saruman's army is destroyed, but Gandalf warns that the larger war against Sauron is only beginning, since Rohan's victory was a single battle, not the end of the conflict. Isengard falls to the Ents around the same time, removing one of Sauron's key allies from the fight.
Meanwhile, Frodo, Sam, and Gollum stand at the edge of Mordor, with Gollum's loyalty still an open question. The final shots emphasize that the hardest part of the journey, getting the Ring into Mordor itself and destroying it at Mount Doom, hasn't started yet. Faramir's choice to let the hobbits go also sets up his role, and his father Denethor's resistance to that choice, in the next film. These threads, an alliance of men strengthened by Rohan's survival, Saruman neutralized as a military threat, and Frodo's growing reliance on an untrustworthy guide, carry directly into "The Return of the King," where Gollum's betrayal, the siege of Gondor, and the destruction of the Ring resolve the trilogy's central conflicts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Saruman die in "The Two Towers"?
No. Saruman survives the film; his forces are destroyed and Isengard falls to the Ents, but his death is addressed later in the trilogy's extended material rather than in this film's theatrical ending.
Why does Frodo trust Gollum despite Sam's warnings?
Frodo sees Gollum as a cautionary reflection of what the Ring can do to anyone who carries it, and believes guiding him offers a chance at redemption, which is why he overrules Sam's suspicion.
What is the significance of Gandalf returning as "Gandalf the White"?
His return signals an upgrade in power and purpose; he comes back specifically to help defeat Saruman and rally the forces opposing Sauron, which is why his arrival at Helm's Deep turns the battle.